


For You

by lil_1337



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-11
Updated: 2008-05-11
Packaged: 2017-11-06 23:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/424422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack and Ianto spend some time together after Jack's return.  Set immediately following the end of the episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For You

/"I came back for you. All of you."/

The words echoed around Ianto's head as he rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Though the last sentence sounded tacked on, an appeasement to the rest of the team, Ianto didn't doubt its sincerity. Neither did Tosh, Owen and Gwen apparently because they had accepted Jack back with some grumbling and minimal fuss. But for Ianto it was different. His relationship with Jack was more than employee and boss. There was another layer of emotional betrayal that came with Jack's desertion then sudden reappearance. Yet, he wasn't sure he had the right to dwell on that. After all, he and Jack had never committed to each other. In fact they'd made the effort to steer clear of that topic all together.

In some ways it was the loss of the leadership at Torchwood Three that Ianto felt more keenly than the lack of someone to hold him. As much as he'd enjoyed having a lover again he needed his captain more. They all did. The whole team was still reeling from Jack's apparent death and subsequent resurrection when he'd disappeared, taking any sense of resolution or forward movement with him. Yet somehow they had motored on, each one doing his or her job and taking on new duties as they arose. Gwen plowed through the unending mounds of paperwork that Ianto pushed at her and Owen took the helm in the field along with a lot of stupid risks. In some ways Ianto thought that he and Tosh had felt the loss the most. They both were the ones who looked to Jack for guidance, unsure of exactly where or how they fit into the bigger picture.

Now Jack was back. Bold as brass with a presence that filled up a room. Only he wasn't quite the same. There was something that was different, more settled and yet somehow less secure. He seemed to know that he'd broken faith by running off and it would take time to prove himself again. Ianto was willing to give him that chance. Jack could be a harsh taskmaster, but he was honest as a leader, never shying from making the hard choices. He saw the bigger picture, one that spanned hundreds of years, and planned for it.

Once again the scene in the office he and Jack had gone to looking for a non-existant bomb played out in his mind. The innuendo laden comment about office romances was familiar ground, but that was where it changed. An invitation to dinner and movie was something so simple and yet fraught with landmines waiting to blow up in their faces. Dating meant taking their relationship outside the hub. A simple dalliance born of mutual comfort converted into something solid and real. There was risk in that and yet Ianto couldn't help, but smile when he thought of way Jack had looked at him, the longing visible in eyes and voice.

Ianto stretched then relaxed his legs, considering the man now sleeping on his couch to avoid running into his earlier self. Gwen was right; there was so much they didn't know and yet it really didn't seem to matter. He knew Jack; the past was just details that filled in the spaces. Jack had offered him one question for which he would give a complete and honest answer; nothing held back. Ianto could have asked about the time agency or for clarification of how Jack felt about Captain John Hart. Somehow sitting on the couch sipping coffee, the past seemed less important than the future.

"What is it you want from me?" The words were out of Ianto's mouth before he had completely decided what it was he most wanted to know.

Jack had sipped his coffee, for once not throwing a smartarse comment back about a perfect cup of coffee or looking good in a suit. "Loyalty, dedication, companionship, understanding, compassion and love. I know it's a lot to ask after what I've done, but I'm willing to work for it. To earn that place back in your life."

"No shagging?"

The smirk had reappeared then, rugged and cocksure. "I can work with shagging."

Ianto had nodded, smiling a little for the first time since Jack's return. For good or ill they had both grown while apart and all that remained to be seen was whether their relationship could do the same now that they were back together.


End file.
